Pacquiao-Cotto Jabs 1.25 Million Buys, $70 Million In PPV Revenue

Manny Pacquiao wasn't' the only big winner Saturday night: HBO Pay-Per-View connected with 1.25 million buys.Translating into some $70 million in PPV revenue, Pacquiao's 12th-round TKO over Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 marked the first time that back-to-back PPV cards netted 1 million buys. Floyd Mayweather's victory over Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19 earned 1.05 million buys.HBO officials said the two fights represented the first time since 1999 -- Oscar De La Hoya- Felix Trinidad and Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield -- that two PPV cards scaled the 1 million-buy plateau in the same year.

A breakdown of the buys shows that there were 650,000 cable buys and 600,000 purchases by satellite and telco video customers. Of the 1.25 million buys, 110,000 emanated from Puerto Rico, Cotto's homeland.

By taking Cotto's WBO welterweight championship belt, Pacquiao became the first boxer to own titles in seven different weight classes.

"We are thrilled with the support that consumers and the pay-per-view industry showed for Pacquiao-Cotto and for Mayweather-Marquez," said Mark Taffet, senior vice president of sports operations for HBO. "Boxing moved to the front pages of sports, news and entertainment, generating a real resurgence and tremendous momentum which will carry into 2010."

Relative to the next big fight, a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup, Taffet would only say: "It`s the fight that boxing fans want, and the promoters have a strong track record over the past few years of having the best fighters fight the best on a regular basis."

Given that the Cinco de Mayo Mayweather-De La Hoya clash in 2007 notched PPV-record tallies of 2.4 million buys and $134.4, and Pacquiao-De La Hoya produced 1.25 million and $70 million last Dec. 6 in what was the Golden Boy's last fight, there's no wonder boxing fans, HBO PPV executives and affiliates want to see Mayweather and Pacquiao square off in a mega-fight next year.